Queens-raised Andrew Cuomo runs for mayor
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In a 17-minute video posted online over the weekend, former Governor Andrew Cuomo announced his campaign for New York City mayor. Screenshot via Cuomo/X
By Jacob Kaye
After months of flirting with a return to public office, Andrew Cuomo officially announced his bid for New York City mayor on Saturday.
The announcement from the Queens-raised former governor who resigned in scandal four years ago puts to an end months of speculation about his mayoral campaign, which is likely to shake up the Democratic primary for the seat.
Cuomo, who joins nearly a dozen other candidates running for the mayor’s office, enters the race as its apparent front runner, in part due to his near-universal name recognition, his access to major donors and a campaign infrastructure that he has reportedly been building up behind the scenes for months. Cuomo has maintained a strong lead in a number of polls, most of which were conducted by private consultants, for weeks, despite not announcing his candidacy until this weekend.
With Cuomo officially in the hunt for Gracie Mansion, the race for New York City mayor entered a new phase on Saturday. While he may now command the race for mayor, he also will become a major target of his now-competitors. Queens Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, Comptroller Brad Lander, State Senator Zellnor Myrie, former Comptroller Scott Stringer and Queens State Senator Jessica Ramos all almost immediately attacked the former governor shortly after his announcement on Saturday.
In an over 17-minute video released Saturday, Cuomo laid out his vision for the city and his “philosophy as an elected official.”
He largely painted the five boroughs as a city in crisis, riddled with crime and unaffordability. Having stayed out of the public eye after resigning from the governor’s office after being accused of sexual harassment by over a dozen women, Cuomo pointed the finger at “the lack of intelligent action by many of our political leaders.”
Citing his resume, which includes positions at nearly all levels of government, Cuomo pitched himself as the solution to the city’s ills.
“New Yorkers know the simple answer of what to do when there's a crisis in leadership – you lead, you act, you do,” the former governor said. “Experience matters. Leading New York City in the midst of a crisis is not the time or the place for on-the-job training.”
Though Cuomo didn’t present any specific, fleshed out policy ideas in his campaign video, he described himself as a “progressive Democrat” who would increase the presence of police officers in the city’s streets and subways, “end…the chaos of e-bikes on our streets and sidewalks,” and build thousands of affordable housing units.
Cuomo also spent a significant amount of time discussing his support for Jewish New Yorkers, who he said “must feel safe.”
Cuomo’s entrance into the race for mayor will likely have a major effect on the incumbent, Mayor Eric Adams, whose base of voters stands to be poached by the former governor.
Cuomo’s campaign announcement shared similarities with Adams’ pitch to voters. Both painted themselves as hard-working public servants, focused on bringing the city back from the brink and rejecting the policies pushed by New York’s most progressive politicians.
But if Cuomo, who has yet to comment on the many scandals and legal troubles facing the mayor, blames Adams for the city’s crises, he didn’t say so over the weekend.
He bashed unnamed city officials who he claimed had lost sight of the “original progressive movement.”
“The founding premise of a progressive Democratic Party is all about serving working men and women, but the cruel irony is they are the ones now paying the highest price for New York's failed Democratic leadership,” Cuomo said in his campaign video.
In his reintroduction to New York voters, Cuomo highlighted his effort to legalize gay marriage in New York over a decade ago and his push to enshrine the abortion protections created by Roe v. Wade in the state’s law. He also pointed to his work to redesign both of the city’s airports and his leadership during COVID-19.
But as Cuomo hits the campaign trail and shares his record of accomplishments, he’ll also have a lot he’ll have to answer for.
Cuomo left office in 2021 after being accused by 13 women of sexual harassment. Though he has consistently denied the allegations, a report issued by the New York attorney general’s office verified the claims of 11 women, including a number of his former aides. All of the criminal charges brought against Cuomo following the allegations were eventually dropped.
“Five district attorneys reviewed the accusations and did not bring a single case forward, and the civil cases arising from this report were either dropped or are unraveling because evidence uncovered during the discovery process shows that Governor Cuomo didn’t harass anyone,” Esther Jensen, a spokesperson for Cuomo’s campaign said in a statement. “As with every case, the facts speak for themselves, and New Yorkers know he’s the candidate with the experience and the record to help save the city and make it a safer and more affordable place for all.”
Cuomo’s handling of the COVID-19 crisis will likely also come under scrutiny throughout the campaign. Though the former governor was at one time seen as a Democratic hero in the face of President Donald Trump’s management of the pandemic, he also was accused of concealing the number of deaths in the state’s nursing homes and of using his government staff to help write a book about his pandemic-era leadership.
In a video released after Cuomo’s announcement, Mamdani described the race’s new top contender as “a guy who cut medicaid and stole money from the MTA, who says he’s fighting for the working class but showered his rich donors with tax breaks, and when he was accused of serial sexual misconduct, spent years hounding the women who spoke out.”
“Time and time again, Andrew Cuomo has put billionaires and book deals before you,” Mamdani said. “And he’s waited this long to announce his run for mayor to avoid answering why.”
Lander also hit Cuomo on his record.
“Andrew Cuomo is for himself and only himself, and is hoping New Yorkers will forget his disastrous record for our city of endless scandals, destroying the subway, and cutting basic services,” said Brad Lander. “The good news is we will end the Adams-Cuomo nightmare of corruption and chaos, and finally send both to their retirement.”
While no elected officials immediately jumped up to endorse Cuomo on Saturday, several issued their support for his run prior to his official announcement. U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres, who is seen as a potential gubernatorial challenger to Governor Kathy Hochul, told the New York Post last week that Cuomo would bring “competence and courage” to City Hall.
“I predict the comeback story of the 2025 election will be the resurrection of Andrew Cuomo,” Torres told the tabloid. “America loves a comeback, New York loves a comeback.”
Cuomo was also pre-endorsed by former state Comptroller H. Carl McCall and New York City’s carpenter union.
One candidate, however, was silent on Cuomo’s announcement – the sitting mayor, whose chances of reelection grow longer by the day.
Despite Cuomo’s advantage in the polls, Adams shrugged off the former governor’s presence in the race when asked about it prior to Cuomo’s announcement last week.
“Things happen in [the] mayoral race,” Adams said during his “off-topic” press conference on Monday. “People come in, people get out, things happen, stuff pops up. That's just the reality of this, of this game.”
Cuomo alluded to the black marks on his record, though he didn’t mention anything specific.
“Did I make mistakes, some painfully? Definitely, and I believe I learned from them and that I am a better person for it and I hope to show that every day,” Cuomo said.
The primary election is on June 24.
Update: This story was updated at 3:15 p.m. on Wednesday, March 5 with comment from Cuomo’s campaign.
